Blog

SeaHelp intervenesOnline petition for the adjustment of visitor’s tax

Currently, the proposed increase in tourist tax for skippers in Croatia is creating quite a stir. Of course, it is evident that no European country will be able to keep up a high-quality tourist infrastructure without charging any kind of contribution. Holiday makers really should appreciate that. Nevertheless, in Croatia further discussion is required when it comes to the realization of the proposed increase, especially with reference to the amount of the visitor’s tax and, by implication, equal treatment of all tourists, i.e., holiday makers staying at hotels, apartments or camping grounds in relation to boat owners.

Much as we sympathize with the financial needs of the Republic of Croatia, SeaHelp, nevertheless, has established contact with the responsible authorities immediately after the announcement of the new visitor’s tax regulation and has explicitly adverted to certain unreasonable hardships for skippers. As we learned on the quiet, those hardships, according to the officialese version, had not been predictable in their entirety due to the lack of exact valid figures with regard to the use of leisure boats.

In order to achieve the necessary disposition for an amendment of the regulation in the interests of all skippers, SeaHelp has decided on initiating an online petition for the purpose of illustrating its significance and its consequences to the regulatory authority. After the closing of the petition, the thus collected (virtual) signatures will be handed over officially to the responsible Croatian authorities by a SeaHelp representative. The aim is to induce the authorities to change their mind in order to avoid any hardships and to bring about equal treatment for all holiday makers spending the most enjoyable days of the year in this beautiful country.

Online petition:

By signing this list we confirm having realized boating holidays in Croatia on a permanent basis before or that we are planning boating holidays in Croatia. We kindly ask you to reconsider once again the appointed amount for the visitor’s tax for boat owners, valid as from 2018, according to the agreed regulation, as for many boat owners the currently proposed amount would entail undue hardship. Furthermore, visitor’s tax should imply equal treatment for all tourists and should not create any exceptions for boat owners.